


Crazy in Her Mind, Love on Her Brain

by deputyydipshit



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Childhood Trauma, F/F, Supportive Earp Siblings (Wynonna Earp), Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught are Childhood Friends, wynonna earp backstory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2019-11-28 07:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18205268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deputyydipshit/pseuds/deputyydipshit
Summary: What happened when Wynonna got sent off to the psychiatric hospital? How did she really get out? Was it fate that Wynonna’s little sister, Waverly, agreed to help Nicole put her plan into motion, or was it the silent sign that she had been looking for? A new take on our crazy chick with a gun’s twisted past and Wayhaught’s iconic beginning.I have changed the ages/years things took place to make it a more modern story. Everything is still canon (i.e. Earp Curse, magic guns, etc.), but Wynonna, Waverly, and Nicole are all the same age.





	1. Where the Demons Hide

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Yes, I am starting another story, and no I don't care. This idea came from a friend and I have a really hard time saying no to her, so here we are. Please leave as much feedback as you may please, for I know this story is going to be confusing at some points. I was debating if I should post this now or wait until I had more written, but I got too excited so I caved.
> 
> Anyway, that's enough talking. So, without further delay, I present to you the first chapter of Crazy in Her Mind, Love on Her Brain. Enjoy!

 

She wasn’t always this way, crazy. The reputation that Purgatory gave her only made her lose her mind. She was a simple child, from a messed up family, who who used sex, drugs, and alcohol to cope with the mess like any other rebellious teenager. The only difference between her and any normal teen was that there were demons that followed her. Actual demons. Not the demons you see in your sleep, or have residing in your mind, no. These were actual monsters, out to kill her family and everyone she loved. 

The problem? No one believed her.

It wasn’t something she cared about, really, but it caused her more trouble than none. Being branded the girl who shot her daddy in the back while she watched her older sister be taken by possessed beings from the past wasn’t usually a story people bought as truth, or gave much pity for.

All it got her was locked up.

The day the men in white coats came to get her, she was at school. It was the day she was set to present a huge project with her best friend in their science class, and it soon became a day she would never forget for all the wrong reasons. 

\- - - - -

**_March, 2016_ **

Junior year of high school was supposed to be easy, according to the logic of her Aunt Gus. She shouldn’t be failing three of her classes or struggling to keep up with the other kids. Junior year was supposed to be the year she started getting her future in order, but that wasn’t the case for her. She had not the slightest clue about what she wanted to do with her life. And what else could one expect from a seventeen year old girl suffering from post traumatic stress? She was supposed to be dreaming of colleges and what her major would be, finding a boyfriend and thinking of the life they’d build together but, instead, she was only dreaming of getting as far away from Purgatory as possible.

Strolling down the hallway, on her way to her locker, Wynonna Earp pulled her new leather jacket tighter around her body. Spring was fast approaching but the cold air still hung around them, snow still falling from the sky. It was the day she had been dreading and she was more than willing to jump in front of a bus at that very moment. Upon reaching the old, beat up blue locker, Wynonna opened it and started shoving various textbooks and workbooks into her bag. After zipping her backpack up, Wynonna took a step back and went to close her locker. Before she had the chance to, though, the metal door was swinging shut and locking. Wynonna jumped, slightly startled, and stared at the hand on her locker door.

Eyes trailing up the pale, slender arm, which was covered in flannel, Wynonna’s blue eyes fell upon her best friend. The tall redhead was leaning back against the neighboring lockers with a slight smirk on her face. Wynonna scoffed and rolled her eyes, shaking her head.

“You nearly chopped my hand off there, Red,” Wynonna said and patted Nicole on the shoulder.

“Wouldn’t be the worst way to start your day,” Nicole shrugged and pushed herself off of the lockers.

“You’re right. A chopped off hand has got nothing on presenting this stupid project on the cell cycle,” Wynonna nodded as they started down the hall.

“All I’ve memorized is that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell,” Nicole stated. “What about you?”

“You’ve got more down than me, that’s for sure,” Wynonna gave a humorless chuckle. “We’re so going to fail this.”

“Ah, don’t worry, Earp,” Nicole slapped a hand on Wynonna’s back. “I’ll woo Mrs. Harper with the Haught charm that all the ladies love,” she winked at her friend before flashing a dimpled smile.

“Oh, right, because that works on everybody. _Especially_ middle aged, married women.”

“You underestimate my abilities,” Nicole smirked. “We’ll walk out of this room with an A plus, a B at the lowest.”

“Alright, Haught, whatever you say,” Wynonna snorted and shook her head as they made their way into the classroom.

The project went as you would expect. Wynonna and Nicole stood in front of the class, their notecards at the ready. Nicole started rambling off seemingly useless information about mitosis and symbiotic relations, and Wynonna nearly zoned out before realizing that it was her turn to speak. Flying through her notecards, Wynonna tried to come off as if she knew what she was talking about but it didn’t fly so well with her teacher. As their project came to a close, and Nicole opened her mouth to sum up their main points, the classroom door swung open and the principal of the school walked in. He was being followed by three people, two men and a woman, decked in long, white coats.

“Wynonna Earp,” the principal said with a hard tone.

“Um…that’s me,” Wynonna raised her hand, still standing next to Nicole in the front of the classroom.

“You’re coming with us,” one of the men said.

“Right, okay,” Wynonna nodded. “Because three people in white coats demanding me follow them someplace is defiantly not sketchy at all.”

“Miss Earp, we’re going to ask you one more time before we take you by force,” the woman said.

“Well you didn’t ask the first time, so I mean,” Wynonna shrugged and crossed her arms. “May I at least ask why I’m being taken away by three mad scientists?”

“We aren’t scientists, ma’am,” the second man among the group replied. “We work for St. Victoria’s Psychiatric Facility.”

“Psychiatric facility?” Wynonna slowly unfolded her arms, letting them drop to her sides.

“We’ve gotten several calls from locals here. Complaints of a young woman running around talking about demons and magic guns,” the first man said.

“You’re kidding me,” Wynonna laughed. “You’re joking right?”

“I’m afraid they aren’t,” the principal said, looking Wynonna directly in the eye.

“You called them,” Wynonna narrowed her eyes. “I should have known.”

“You can’t take her,” Nicole spoke up. “You can’t deprive her of an education.”

“Crazy needs no education except in sanity,” the woman said.

“That’s ridiculous!” Nicole threw her hands in the air. “Mrs. Harper, tell them that they can’t take her.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Miss Haught,” the middle-aged woman responded. “They work for the province. I have no power over them,” she concluded with a sad glance in Wynonna’s direction.

“Miss Earp,” one of the men stepped forward, “we won’t ask again.”

Wynonna looked at Nicole with pleading eyes. Nicole stared back with an intensity so fierce that Wynonna could _feel_ the anger radiating off of her. Before Nicole could do or say anything, Wynonna stepped toward her and threw her arms around the taller frame of her best friend. Nicole rested her chin on the top of Wynonna’s head and closed her eyes tightly.

“Take care of Waverly for me,” Wynonna whispered. “Just keep watch over her at school. Please.”

“You have my word, Earp,” Nicole promised. “And, for the record, I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“I’m thankful to know that I’ll always have you on my side, Haught,” Wynonna took a step back and wiped her eyes. “You’ll never understand how much your friendship means to me.”

Turning her back to her friend, Wynonna walked straight toward the group of hospice nurses. They stared at her with judging eyes that bore into her soul. Placing a guiding hand on her shoulder, the woman of the group lead Wynonna to the door. Before they existed the classroom, Wynonna turned around one last time. Everyone in the room had their eyes on her, some with expressions of pity on their faces while other bore smirks of contentment. Wynonna kept her eyes trained on Nicole’s for a beat before shifting to the principal. She took a small step forward, raising a pointed finger at the balding man.

“You can go fuck yourself,” she spat before turning around and stalking out of the room.

\- - - - -

**_May, 2018 – Present Day_ **

It was the summer of Nicole’s first year of college, and she couldn’t help but feel a little empty and unphased by it. While everyone was road tripping down to Austin with their honeys for tacos, or partying it up in Cancun, Nicole was sat in her small apartment living room, a bag of chips resting in her lap and a beer in one hand with the TV remote clutched in the other. This was the summer she and Wynonna had dreamed of since their first day of high school. They had every day of their college lives planned out; every break, every summer, was planned out in full detail. They had said they wanted an apartment on the East side of town, right in the middle of the bustling downtown of Purgatory and the Ghost River University campus. Nicole was going to study criminal justice, and Wynonna was going to study…well, that was the one thing they never got to discussing.

They had promised to get each other through college at whatever cost it took, and the day Wynonna was so brutally taken from Nicole’s life was the day their plans went to shit. So instead of trekking around the province, possibly crossing the boarder into the United States, driving with the windows down and the music turned up to full volume, Nicole was sitting in a pit of depression and regret. The last words she spoke to her best friend their Junior year of high school was that she would protect Waverly. And boy had she really neglected that promise at first. Waverly was…pissed off, to say the least, when she was informed about her sister’s induction to the psychiatric ward.

The day it happened, Nicole showed up to the Homestead and dropped the news to Waverly and the Earp’s Uncle Curtis and Aunt Gus. Waverly had no clue what had happened considering she had just gotten home from cheer practice that day. There was a lot of screaming from the youngest Earp, and silent shock from their caretakers. It was known that Wynonna had always been…unstable. What would you expect from the girl who had been mentally abused and scarred by her alcoholic father, whom she ended up shooting in the back, and abandoned by her mental mother at such a young age?

Waverly, luckily, didn’t inherit the crazy gene like her sister had. But she had inherited the stubborn gene from her mother, that’s for sure. So when Nicole freaking Haught sauntered up their front steps and told her that Wynonna was gone, and that she had done nothing to stop it, Waverly had become nothing but a ball of hot and fiery rage. Nicole found it irritating and completely irrational that Waverly would blame her for something out of her control; the smaller girl got under her skin and threw her under the bus every chance she got. Waverly Earp was completely and utterly infuriating.

And Nicole found it extremely adorable.

The feelings came quick and took her by surprise. She didn’t expect to fall for Waverly, not in the slightest, but since they had started spending more time together things got complicated. When the initial anger Waverly had felt began to melt into fear and acceptance of the situation, the brunette had given Nicole a call. Her intentions for calling were to simply apologize to the redhead and ask if she wanted to grab coffee the next morning. Their conversation had stretched from the late hours of the night until the early hours of the morning, when the sun was just beginning to rise. Since then, it had been a slippery slope for Nicole and her feelings.

Waverly Earp was a simple minded girl living in a small minded town. She fit in and had stolen the hearts of the people of Purgatory. Not even the tainted Earp name could ruin the reputation she had worked hard to build for herself. Ever since she was little, she had been known as the mistake child, product of Michelle Gibson and a man no one knew the identity of. Her life was set up for her by the townsfolk. She was branded a non-Earp, but that didn’t stop the teasing. Wynonna was branded the crazy girl of the city, the bad seed among hundreds of good ones, and Waverly was caught in the middle of it all. So she built herself up and set out to make a new name for herself. She was going to change how Waverly maybe an Earp was perceived by Purgatory.

Her plan had worked for the most part, she proved to everyone that she went far beyond the constructs of her crazy family and that there was more to her than what met the eye. But when Wynonna had been taken away, her reputation began to plummet quickly. She was completely alone and scared out of her mind, stuck at the crossroads of letting herself fall or pick herself back up and start over. The life she had built slowly began to dissipate before her eyes and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it.

Except turn to Nicole.

Nicole had been there from the very beginning, had supported her family right from the start. So it only made sense for her to call Nicole out of the blue one night when she was feeling particularly upset with herself for the shit storm of a situation she had created for herself, right? Of course it did; she at least owed the redhead an apology for how she had acted the night she informed the remaining Earp/Gibson family members of what had happened. Well, one phone call turned into five, which turned into a nightly routine the two girls had developed. Soon cold shoulders and angry stares in the halls of Purgatory High turned to lengthy hugs and meaningful conversations in the park.

They started their senior year as acquaintances, having short and awkward conversations in passing, and graduated as best friends. They had ditched prom to hang out on the Homestead property, mostly for Waverly’s sake to avoid Champ Hardy and his attempts to woo her, partially because they felt like going to prom without Wynonna was wrong. As their senior year progressed, Waverly was hit with something in her heart so fierce that it made her stop dead in her tracks. It was something completely unexpected and slightly frightening. She had feelings for Nicole. Now, Waverly was a smart girl, so she knew that she was to never tell Nicole of these recently revealed feelings for fear of ruining what they had worked so hard to achieve. She had an inkling of suspicion that she wasn’t solely alone with these feelings, but Waverly knew not to fix something that wasn’t broken. So she did the only thing she could think of: she brought herself even closer to the redhead.

Their summer began with them binging the latest season of whatever show they had gotten themselves into on Netflix, staying up until two in the morning lying on the floor of Nicole’s apartment living room and exchanging secrets. At some point throughout the night, Waverly had slipped up and said something she knew she would regret if she was heard by the redhead. Luckily for her, Nicole appeared to have already been asleep.

Luckily for Nicole, she hadn’t exactly fallen asleep yet.

It had been a week since Waverly’s accidental confession and Nicole hadn’t said anything. She didn’t plan on saying anything, either. Not when they were in the middle of planning a jailbreak of sorts. Wynonna had been locked away for too long, and Nicole and Waverly decided that it was time to get her out from behind the white walls and back into the real world, where she belonged. Their plan for that day was to head down into the city and visit Wynonna, as they had been doing since she had gone away. The difference this time? Get her out. They hadn’t discussed exactly how that was to happen yet, but Nicole assured Waverly that she had a plan.

Spoiler alert: she had no plan.

Snagging your bestie and yanking the straight jacket from around her body before proceeding to pull her out of the doors to the facility seemed like a viable plan when she first pitched it to herself, but it was growing more and more apparent that they couldn’t do that for many reasons. It was next to impossible to get in, or out of, St. Victoria’s without being thoroughly patted down and searched, so sauntering out the front doors with a patient was going to be a little tough. Plus, Nicole’s goal was to become a cop, and she couldn’t achieve that goal if she got arrested for breaking a condemned “crazy person” out of hospice. Also, Waverly would never follow through with it. Waverly didn’t know of this crazy plan, though, and all of her trust was in the redhead’s hands. She’d figure it out. Eventually. Hopefully sometime before they got to St. Victoria’s.

Three sharp knocks on the door brought Nicole out of her daze and she shook her head before standing up. She brushed some chip crumbs off of her sweatpants and turned the TV off before she made her way over to the door, pulling it open. She was met by a peppy Waverly, dressed in a stolen Purgatory High hockey t-shirt from Nicole and leggings paired with a pair of white and black sneakers. She had a smile on her face and two cups of coffee in her hands.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” The brunette asked as she made her way into the apartment.

“What do you mean?” Nicole looked down at her attire after shutting the door.

“Your shirt is all wrinkled and I’m almost positive you’ve been wearing those pants for the past week. Not to mention your hair. Have you even showered?” Waverly set the coffees on the table and stepped up to Nicole, running her fingers through the fiery red mop and trying her best to fix it.

“Yes, actually, I did,” Nicole said before glaring at Waverly. “I’m sorry that I can’t always look as perfect as you do.”

“Oh, come on, Nic,” Waverly placed her hands on her hips and fixed the redhead with a knowing look. “You know I’m just messing with you. But seriously, please go put on some new pants,” she turned and made her way to the table, picking up her coffee.

Nicole sighed. “Waverly – ”

“Please?” Waverly asked, turning around to bat her eyes at Nicole. “For me?” She smiled sweetly and knew that Nicole was putty in her hands.

“Fine, but _I_ choose the music this time,” Nicole huffed before going to her room to change.

She didn’t get to choose the music.

\- - - - -

“It looks different,” Waverly said from the passenger seat of Nicole’s car. “Did they paint it or something?”

“I don’t think so,” Nicole shook her head. “I mean, it _has_ been a few months since we last came here.”

“Yeah,” Waverly sighed, “I still don’t get why she told us not to come for this long.”

“She’s Wynonna,” Nicole shrugged. “No one really knows why she does anything she does,” she stared out the front windshield at the brick building ahead of them, the letters painted on in bright, white paint. “You ready for this?” She asked and turned to face Waverly.

“To see her again, or to break her out?” Waverly asked as she looked at Nicole.

“Both?” Nicole offered a small smile of comfort.

“I’m excited to see her…I’ve missed her,” Waverly confessed. “And you’ve got a plan…right?”

“Yeah,” Nicole lied and reached over to take Waverly’s hand in her own. “I do,” she gave her hand a light squeeze.

After a few moments of deafening silence, Nicole and Waverly tore their eyes away from each other, Nicole dropping Waverly’s hand, and got out of the car. They made their way to the entrance and stopped at the bottom of the steps. The building was tall, at least ten stories high, and was adorned with barred windows and security cameras all around. Turning their attention to the old, rusty metal doors that separated them from the inside of the building, Nicole felt the all too familiar shiver run down her spine; the same eerie feeling she got in the gut of her stomach every single time she set foot anywhere near the premises of St. Victoria’s. With one last glance at Waverly, Nicole ascended the steps and pulled the large door open, cringing as its squeaking pierced their ears.

“Boy, I have  _not_ missed that,” Waverly shuttered. “It’s almost straight out of a horror movie.”

“Oh, I’m sure they’ve filmed plenty of horror movies here,” Nicole said as they entered the building.

They walked down the long corridor, the smell of chemicals and sadness filled their lungs like a breath of polluted air. They were surrounded by white walls and floors that looked a sickening yellow under the lights that lined the ceiling. The distant sounds of shouting and banging could be heard from somewhere deep within the facility, and Nicole and Waverly picked up their pace. They finally reached the two swinging, wooden doors that led to the receptionists desk and entered the small waiting space. They had yet to figure out why the font desk was placed so far within the building, but they knew it had to do with runaway patients and security.

“Names,” the woman behind the sliding glass window said, her voice monotone and her attention drawn to the computer she was so loudly clacking away on the keyboard of.

“Um, Waverly Earp and Nicole Haught,” Waverly said, voice lacking its usual pep.

“Who are you here to see?” The woman asked, again with her monotone voice.

“Wynonna,” Nicole said. “Wynonna Earp,” the incessant pitter-patter of mechanical rain stopped abruptly as the woman Nicole soon came to realize had the name of Constance slowly looked away from her computer.

“Wynonna Earp?” The blonde woman shifted her gaze between Nicole and Waverly as both girls nodded. “Sweetheart, Wynonna Earp has been gone for a month now. She got loose one night and we were unable to track her down.”

“G-gone?” Waverly stuttered.

“Gone as in gone,” Nicole tried to clarify, hoping she was missing something. "Gone like the girl in  _Gone Girl_.

“What part of gone do you not understand?” Constance leaned on her elbows, getting closer to the girls. “There was nothing she left behind. All of her files were burned.”

“Is there anything left at all?” Waverly asked. “Anything that wasn’t shredded or burned?”

“Well, there’s one thing,” Constance tilted her head in a thoughtful manner, “but we haven’t been able to decipher it.”

“Decipher?” Waverly asked, hope swelling in her chest.

“She left behind some sort of encrypted letter, but as far as I’m concerned it’s just a bunch of pictures and symbols,” Constance waved a hand around in the air. “Crazy people confuse me.”

“Can we see it?” Nicole asked ignoring the receptionist’s last comment.

“I suppose,” the woman rose from her chair, “but it cannot, and will not leave this building. It’s still classified.”

“Yeah, yeah, just can you go get it for us?” Waverly practically begged.

“One moment,” Constance turned on her heels and approached a tall, metal filing cabinet. She searched through the letters until she pulled out a thin, worn manila folder with _Earp, Wynonna_ written on its tab. “There you go, darling,” she said handing the folder to Waverly.

“This is it?” Waverly stared down at the folder in her hands. “But…there’s nothing in here.”

“Open the folder,” Constance said.

Waverly’s grip on the folder tightened and she took a deep breath before opening it. There, written on the inside of the folder itself, was a series of symbols strategically placed to form words. In Wynonna’s handwriting.

“She remembered it,” Nicole whispered.

“Remembered what?” Constance asked, her chin rested in her hands. “Have you two just decoded something in seconds that we’ve been trying to decode for weeks?”

“She remembered,” Waverly repeated, ignoring the woman before them. She had remembered the secret language the three of them had come up with for when they would send letters or make phone calls to each other.

“That crazy bitch,” Nicole smiled as she took the folder into her own hands, reading it over one last time.

_I blew this place like I blew Pete York in the bathroom stall at the beginning of Junior year: as fast as I could without getting caught._

_I’m off to Greece, bitches. Don’t come looking for me. I’ll be back soon enough. I love you goons. Take care of each other for me, would you?_

_– W_


	2. Homesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So I’m assuming this isn’t my stop,” Wynonna deadpanned.
> 
> “Oh, no,” Robert shook his head and turned around, continuing their trek with backwards steps. “No, Miss Earp, you are staying in the special wing.”
> 
> “Special meaning white, padded walls and comfy straitjackets?”
> 
> “Only if you’re a bad girl,” Robert grinned before turning back around and pushing through a large, white metal door.
> 
> “You people are going to regret locking me up,” Wynonna grumbled. “I’m the only one who can put these bastards back down.”
> 
> “No more demon talk. That’ll only get you thrown in deeper,” Robert stopped walking and turned to face Wynonna. “Follow the rules, and we won’t have any issues here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update took so long! I was trying to perfect it and make it worth your time! Thank you for your patience and please enjoy!
> 
> This song gets its name from Dua Lipa's song 'Homesick'

******_March 2016_ **

Wynonna stood at the bottom of the steps of St. Victoria’s, staring up at the big, white letters painted above the doors. The paint was cracked against the rust colored brick and was beginning to peel off of the wall; it was long past due for a touchup. She looked around, attempting to get a better handle on her surroundings, as she was sure this would be the last time she saw the “real” outside world for a long time. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the dawn of spring was in the air. Such happy things for such a depressing day. A warm hand on her shoulder brought her attention back to the present, to the shitty situation she was in.

“The quicker we get you signed in, the quicker we can get you settled,” a woman’s voice rang in her ears. It was an eerily calm and sweet voice for talking about a basic life sentence to the loony bin.

They entered the building and made their way down a long, winding hall. The air smelled stale and Wynonna was suddenly set on edge. She had been condemned for conjuring up demons; demons that nobody believed existed. Well, Waverly and Nicole believed her, but who would listen to two high schoolers? Eventually, after what felt like forever, they reached a receptionists desk but no one was currently occupying the desk. The room was quiet, too quiet, which made Wynonna feel even more unsettled. She usually laughed in the face of danger, ran right into the scariest of scary shit, but something was different about this. This wasn’t just scary. It was terrifying. It was her future. She was going to be stuck here forever.

“Constance!” The man with them yelled. He rang the bell and knocked on the window.

“Coming!” Wynonna winced at the high-pitched lit to the voice. Suddenly, a blonde woman was rushing out from behind some shelves and sitting down in the empty swivel chair behind the computer.

“Earp, Wynonna,” the same man said.

“Oh, the demon girl is here!” Constance said, a bit too cheerfully if Wynonna were being honest. Something seemed off. “Mr. Svane will be out shortly to collect you and show you to your room,” she smiled sweetly.

The three nurses that flanked her sides brought her over to two large, metal doors. A buzzer sounded and they were unlocked. The three nurses brought Wynonna through the doors and she looked around, spotting what was apparently supposed to resemble some sort of waiting room. They stood by her, hands clasped tightly around her arms, waiting for the man the receptionist gave the name Mr. Svane to. By this point, Wynonna was long past angry at this point, she had an hour long car ride to sit in the back seat and seethe about her current situation.

By now, she was scared and just a tiny bit sad. She felt defeated, to say the least. She knew that, no matter how hard she fought or how far she’d try to run, she would lose. She had now officially been deemed crazy for something that was very much real in her life. It was one of those things that you had to see to believe, Wynonna knew, but no one gave her the time of day to ever explain herself. The only people she knew she could count on were her best friend who could do nothing but sit by and watch her be taken away, and her sister who knew absolutely nothing about her current situation.

Her first thought about Waverly hit her then, and it nearly brought her to tears. Waverly had no clue about any of this. Waverly wasn’t informed and Waverly wasn’t going to find out until she got home. She put it in Nicole’s hands to tell her sister the deal and to not let her think that Wynonna had abandoned her. It was a soul-crushing thing to think, but with the past the Earp family had with leaving with no explanation, what else could she think? Wynonna was the last true family Waverly had left and now she was gone, too. That thought alone brought Wynonna to the brink of tears. She didn’t even get to say goodbye.

“Miss Earp?” She heard a man say. “Wynonna Earp?” Wynonna looked up and saw a tall man standing across the room from her. He had a strange haircut that was long at the top and shaved on the sides, and his beard sported a gray patch on the left side of his chin. The punk-esque style of his facial hair and haircut were foiled by the thin, round framed glasses that sat on his face.

“What’s it to you?” Wynonna said, her arms crossed firmly over her chest.

“My name is Robert Svane, and I’m going to be showing you around our facility,” he replied with a smile.

“Oh how fun,” Wynonna forced a smile and straightened her posture. One of the three nurses took hold of her arm again, and she yanked it away. “I can stand on my own, you assholes,” she said to them before following Robert down the hall.

The two walked down a long hall that was different in every way possible from the front of the building. The white bricks and tile flooring that looked yellow in the eerily lit hall from before were replaced with red bricks and carpeted floors. The air seemed lighter, but still held the creepy feel that chilled Wynonna to her core. Soft music played from speakers in the ceiling and every now and then they’d pass by a vending machine.

“This is where we keep our more…stable patients,” Robert said, reading Wynonna’s silence as confusion.

“And by stable patients you mean…?” Wynonna looked around as they passed by a group of teens huddled around a pool table.

“The mentally ill. Those suffering from extreme depression and suicidal tendencies who come and seek refuge here with us. The ones who we are able to…fix, per-say.”

“So I’m assuming this isn’t my stop,” Wynonna deadpanned.

“Oh, no,” Robert shook his head and turned around, continuing their trek with backwards steps. “No, Miss Earp, you are staying in the _special_ wing.”

“Special meaning white, padded walls and comfy straitjackets?”

“Only if you’re a bad girl,” Robert grinned before turning back around and pushing through a large, white metal door.

“You people are going to regret locking me up,” Wynonna grumbled. “I’m the only one who can put these bastards back down.”

“No more demon talk. That’ll only get you thrown in deeper,” Robert stopped walking and turned to face Wynonna. “Follow the rules, and we won’t have any issues here.”

“Being locked up and being deemed crazy for something that’s real,” Wynonna nodded. “Seems about right.”

\- - - - -

**_March 2017_ **

“I can’t believe it’s been a year,” Nicole said.

“It’s felt like so much longer,” Waverly added.

It had been a year since Wynonna was taken. A year since all of their lives changed. A year since Nicole and Waverly both lost one of the most important people in their lives. At first they thought it would be easy, that Wynonna would be released a few months later. When a few months turned into a few more, and a few more after that, that’s when they knew. They knew she was going to be in there for the long haul. One year without Wynonna was a year of firsts for Waverly and Nicole. Their first Christmas without the older Earp. Their first birthday without her. A vital key to their trio was missing, and they knew it was only going to get harder.

Waverly and Nicole were currently sitting on the floor of Waverly’s room, leaning their backs against the foot of Waverly’s bed. It was prom night and neither girl wanted to attend the event, as they felt it would be betraying Wynonna if they did. The older Earp thought dances to be overrated, but the three had always planned to attend together just for the experience. Without Wynonna, Waverly had no desire to go and Nicole vowed to be there with her every step of the way for this harrowing experience.

Losing your sister was bad enough, but having to sit through prom without her, and eventually have to walk across a stage to get your diploma, hearing your name called, but not hers, was even worse. Graduation was rapidly approaching and Waverly was starting to feel less and less excited by it as each day passed. With the ceremony only two months away, seniors were starting to get their acceptance letters to the colleges of their dreams, prepping to move out of the province, or even the country, to go start their futures. Nicole and Waverly, though, were doing quite the opposite.

“Are you sure staying in Purgatory is the best idea?” Nicole asked, her eyes glued to the closed door in front of them. “I mean, you’ve always talked about going someplace else, possibly somewhere in the States.”

“Yeah, well,” Waverly shrugged and looked down at her hands. “With Wyn gone, I’ve kind of lost all interest in leaving. I want to stay as close to her as possible.”

“What about your plan though? Toronto? Museum curator?”

“I’ll stay here and study history. Ghost River University has a pretty good program for what I want to go into. I don’t want to go anywhere until Wynonna gets out of that shithole.”

“You really do miss her, huh?” Nicole tore her eyes away from the white door and turned to face Waverly. “You guys were a lot closer than you let on.”

“Wynonna would never admit it to you, but we couldn’t survive without each other. After Mamma left and Daddy and Willa, well...” She paused, then, her eyes trained on Nicole’s. Shaking her head, she continued. “Gus could never get through to her, so I did what I could. After then...she and I became inseparable.”

“I never realized how close you were, never saw it from that perspective before,” Nicole’s face softened, her eyes taking on a grim, empty look. “I always just assumed Wynonna was a lone wolf, you know? That she didn’t need anyone. Turns out, though, she did. She needed you.”

“She was all I had left, Nicole,” Waverly’s voice quivered. “She promised she’d always be here, that she’d never leave.”

“She had no choice,” Nicole said. “You know that.”

“I know,” Waverly whispered, “which makes this that much harder.”

“Hey,” Nicole said softly, gaining Waverly’s attention, “I know this is hard for you, and I know staying as close to her as possible is really important to you. I promised her that I would be here with you when you need me, even when you don’t, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“What are you saying?” Waverly glanced in Nicole’s direction.

“What I’m saying is,” Nicole took one of Waverly’s hands in her own, “I’m going to Ghost River University, I’m going to study criminal justice, and you and I are going to keep our weekly visits to Wynonna a thing.”

“What about Calgary? You got a full ride there, you can’t just pass that up, Nicole.”

“Oh, but I can and I did. Wynonna is my best friend, she’s basically my sister, too. I’m not going anywhere until she gets out of there. Besides, she and I had planned to go to GTU, I just applied to Calgary because…well, to see if I could do it.”

“Have I ever mentioned how annoying you are sometimes?” Waverly cracked the slightest of smiles and released Nicole’s hand to shove her lightly.

“Once or twice,” Nicole laughed and shrugged.

“You and Wynonna really are the same person,” Waverly laughed and leaned into Nicole’s side. “She’s lucky to have such an amazing best friend.”

“She’s lucky to have such an amazing sister, too,” Nicole replied and wrapped an arm around Waverly.

\- - - - -

**_June 2016_ **

Silence.

That’s all she heard. That’s all she ever heard.

Nothing.

Deafening silence that rang in her ears like an alarm going off over a loudspeaker. The sound of silence had come to talk with her again, darkness becoming more than just an old friend. She laid in her bed, hands clasped behind her head and her feet crossed at the ankles. She stared up at the ceiling, getting lost in her thoughts because it was the only company she had. Three months had passed and nothing had been done to even attempt to “fix” Wynonna. As the days ticked on, she felt like she was in less of a mental hospital and more of a demented prison of sorts. She was, in fact, being held hostage, hypothetically chained to the confines of her small room at the end of a dimly lit hallway.

She had no contact with people throughout the day, unless Waverly and Nicole came to visit. She was almost never allowed to leave her room, only being allotted time to eat and shower among the rest of the patients in her area. It wasn’t horrible, no; they weren’t hurting her or intentionally making her life a living hell. It was just that nobody working in all of St. Victoria’s seemed to care that she was, in fact, telling the truth when it came to demons.

“Look into my family name,” she had begged at first. “You’ll see I’m no liar.”

No one listened to her, no one would lever listen to her. The Earp name was a cursed name throughout all of Purgatory. Only the uneducated believed an Earp to be anything but a troublemaker and homewrecker.

She often thought about what her sister and her best friend were up to, if they had forgotten her or had moved on. She wondered if Waverly had confessed her feelings for Nicole yet, or if Nicole had developed feelings of her own over time and fessed up to Waverly yet. She wondered how Gus and Curtis reacted when Nicole told them what had happened. Waverly gave her a general rundown of how it happened, but words weren’t enough, she needed to know. Wynonna was aware of how much trouble she caused, how much stress she brought her aunt and uncle, but that didn’t mean she was always intentionally making their lives a living hell.

She used her bad actions to cope with her childhood trauma. It had gotten to the point of not being able to do anything else but run off and get drunk every night. She thought it were the best thing she could do in order to protect Waverly from becoming like her. She was a monster, and she refused to let her sister, the only blood relative she had left in this world, fall down the same path she had. Waverly refused to leave every time she’d come to visit with Nicole. She refused to let Wynonna sit and fall deeper into the depressive state she had quickly found herself in.

The only one able to protect Purgatory and its citizen is locked up in a mental institute, deemed crazy and unstable to be around. _They’ll see soon enough._ She kept thinking to herself. Once things start to happen, unexplainable things, then they’ll rethink locking her up.

_“Why can’t I be the one to break the curse?”_

Waverly’s words echoed in her head like a mantra.

_“Why can’t I be the one who puts the revenants back down?”_

“I don’t know, baby girl. But it should have been you,” Wynonna sighed and covered her face with one of her hands.

“You’re the best of us,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to say right now that I’m well aware of the inaccuracy of the whole process of Wynonna being admitted into the psych ward. I in no way intend to offend anyone who has been in a mental institution before nor do I intend to make the process of admittance darker than it actually is. This is all fiction and is written in such a dark way because of the world they live in. This is Wynonna Earp, anything is possible.
> 
> I appreciate all of your feedback and hope to continue with this story as frequently as possible. Thank you for remaining patient with me, as I am trying to make each chapter as perfect as possible without making it too long or too short. We’re only getting started, so buckle up and get ready for a wild ride
> 
> Come yell at me on Twitter!
> 
> @deputyydipshit


	3. Her End, Their Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What can I get you girls tonight?” Gus asked as she wiped down the bar with the white rag she clutched in her hand.
> 
> “Just a beer.” Nicole nodded.
> 
> “Waverly?” Gus looked at her niece.
> 
> “The same.” Waverly shrugged and nudged Nicole when she saw her smile. “What?”
> 
> “Nothing.” Nicole shook her head. “I’m just surprised, is all.”
> 
> “What, I can’t order something different from what I usually get?” Waverly crossed her arms and turned in her stool to face Nicole.
> 
> “No no, it isn’t that.” Nicole held her hands up in surrender. “It’s just that I didn’t peg you as the beer drinking type.”
> 
> “I’m really not.” Waverly confessed. “But it’s Friday night, it’s summer, and I want to do everything in my power to get...her...off my mind. Even if it’s just for the night.”

**_March, 2017_ **

The white, padded walls had become more comforting over the course of a few months. It wasn’t the worst thing they’d done to her since she was admitted, if she were being completely honest with herself. Then again, nothing was worse than the pathetic excuse of a slice of pizza they once tried to get her to eat. Solitary confinement was nothing she expected it to be, but everything she hoped it wouldn’t be.

The movies played it up just a bit too much, seeing as only the craziest of the crazies locked in the loonie bin had been sent to the white room wearing straight jackets and nothing else. Wynonna wasn’t crazy. Well...crazier than most people in the building. Then again, she talks of demons and magic guns so it made sense.

Except that it didn’t.

_ She was telling the truth.  _ The fucked up part was that no one believed her, or even listened to her. So when she broke out of her room and ran down the halls in her robe, screaming about seven resurrected demon outlaws from the old west who attacked her home and killed her sister, while she shot her father with her great-great-grandfather’s magical gun at the same time, it was only logical that they’d lock her up.

The straight jacket was only a precautionary measure the nurses took while transporting her to the safer environment. “Safer” meaning no one around her whom she could infect with her overactive imagination. She had become a danger to the other patients, and Robert seemed to have made it his mission to let her know of that every single day.

Nicole and Waverly’s visits had become sporadic as their finals were approaching and they had to dedicate more time to school and studying. Graduation was approaching and all Wynonna could think about was how many of her classmates were going to be whispering about her at the ceremony. She punched one of the padded walls surrounding her at the thought, thankful (for once) for the soft cushion lining the walls. The fabric absorbed her fist and muffled the sound, as well as the pain she would have felt on a brick wall.

“We all knew I was a shoe in for ‘Most Likely To Be Arrested Before Graduation’ but this is something I don’t think even Stephanie Jones saw coming.” Wynonna mumbled as she walked a straight line across the cube-shaped room. “More like most likely to go crazy at eighteen.”

Sinking to the floor, Wynonna sighed and leaned her head back against the wall, letting the silence consume her once more. As she listened to her breathing, feeling the steady thrum of her heartbeat, Wynonna let her mind drift. Maybe, she thought, this wouldn’t be so bad afterall.

**_June, 2018 – Present Day_ **

Waverly suggested they took a night to themselves, to free their minds of  _ her _ for a while. So, naturally, they hit up Shorty’s; the place she frequented before she was taken, with a fake ID and a good relationship with the bar’s owner. Wynonna was gone, but Nicole could swear she felt the other girl’s presence next to her as soon as her Converse hit the wood floors.

The smell of stale beer and peanuts filled Nicole’s nostrils and she felt the warmth of Waverly’s hand sliding into her own. Twangy country music blasted from the jukebox across the room and groups of college students and middle aged adults alike swarmed the few pool tables and couches spread about the floor.

Gus caught their eyes and waved them over, forcing a warm smile as they took two bar stools. Nicole returned the smile, equally as forced, as she looked around once more. The bar was more packed than usual, but it was most likely because it was the summertime and nobody had anything better to do on a Friday night, Nicole thought.

“What can I get you girls tonight?” Gus asked as she wiped down the bar with the white rag she clutched in her hand.

“Just a beer.” Nicole nodded.

“Waverly?” Gus looked at her niece.

“The same.” Waverly shrugged and nudged Nicole when she saw her smile. “What?”

“Nothing.” Nicole shook her head. “I’m just surprised, is all.”

“What, I can’t order something different from what I usually get?” Waverly crossed her arms and turned in her stool to face Nicole.

“No no, it isn’t that.” Nicole held her hands up in surrender. “It’s just that I didn’t peg you as the beer drinking type.”

“I’m really not.” Waverly confessed. “But it’s Friday night, it’s summer, and I want to do everything in my power to get... _ her _ ...off my mind. Even if it’s just for the night.”

“You know she’s not going to be gone forever, right?” Nicole said after a brief moment of silence. She saw the hurt and panic in Waverly’s eyes and continued. “She’s Wynonna Earp. Despite what she may think, her fate is tied to this town just as much as yours and mine is. She’ll be back. Maybe not tomorrow, or next month, but she’ll be back.”

Waverly stared at Nicole, bottom lip pulled between her teeth, brows knitted in concentration. She studied the redhead’s face, committing it to memory. Nicole seemed more relaxed than she had been the past few weeks which surprised Waverly, to say the least. Waverly had barely seen Nicole since they discovered Wynonna had left, aside from the times she made Nicole leave her apartment. It made her sad, but she’d never admit that aloud to anyone but Chrissy Nedley.

Nicole had a strange way of getting underneath Waverly’s skin. It wasn’t that Nicole aggravated Waverly, but it was quite the opposite. The younger Earp found herself totally enthralled with the tall redhead to the point of wanting to know everything there was to know about Nicole Haught. Waverly wanted to know what made her gears turn, what made Nicole tick. Nicole was complex, and Waverly found herself having a hard time tapping into Nicole’s mind. With Wynonna it was easy, but perhaps that was because the sister’s were connected on a level far beyond that of which she found herself to be connected with Nicole.

Gus came back with two bottles of beer and set them in front of each girl. With a light tap to the bar top and a quick wink at Waverly, Gus turned on her heel to tend to other customers. Waverly shifted her gaze from her beer to Nicole, and glint of mischief sparkling in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Come play a round of pool with me?” Waverly asked as she took her beer in one hand, and Nicole’s free hand in her other, pulling Nicole toward the one abandoned pool table in the corner of the room.

“Sure, I guess?” Nicole chuckled lightly. “Though I don’t think I have much of a choice, now do I?”

“Since when do you not want to play pool, huh?” Waverly smiled. “Didn’t you and Wynonna used to get into fights every time you two played?”

“That’s besides the point.” Nicole raised an eyebrow at the girl across from her. “But fine. I subject to your incessant nagging.” Nicole grinned and laughed. “Hand me a cue and watch me kick your ass.”

**_March, 2018_ **

Things at St. Victoria’s had started to calm down as Wynonna began to be seen as less of a problem child, and more of an actual patient. She was still kept in solitary confinement, but had lost the straitjacket as part of a “special privilege” she earned by keeping the demon talk to a minimum over the course of the past few months. She befriended Robert, even going so far as to giving him a nickname.

Bobo had become her best friend. Well, as much of a best friend as one can get with the man who holds the keys to your locked door. Wynonna saw him as less of a threat, and more of a blessing in disguise. He brought her food and clothes, gave her extra shower time, and even gave her free roam of the halls sometimes. If being sent off to the loony bin had taught Wynonna anything, it was to not take things for granted. Any gesture, no matter how big or small, was appreciated.

Wynonna’s actions were more cynical than anything, considering she was only growing closer to Bobo in order to get his help. She was hatching a plan, a plan to escape, and she needed his help to execute it. So what better way to recruit someone for a crazy breakout plan than by bending to the woes of the psychiatric nurses and proving herself to be able to listen when she was told?

It was a simple plan. She was going to gain Bobo’s trust, and work her Earp magic to get him to do her a favor. He was going to help her escape using abandoned back hallways and doors to the facility, an area devoid of any security cameras (or so she heard). She and a guy named Keegan were planning to run off with his biker gang, the Banditos. It was a tough decision to make, leaving her life behind for a group of outlaws running from the law, but it was a decision that had to be made.

Leaving Purgatory meant leaving Waverly and, as painful as it was going to be, that’s what Wynonna needed to do. Her sister was constantly suffocating under Wynonna’s shadow; everyone was expecting her to grow up to be like Wynonna. She refused to string those expectations along, refused to let Waverly succumb to the inevitable whispers and stares that were sure to follow her for the rest of her life. Wynonna knew leaving Waverly was the only option at this point. Besides...she had Nicole. Nicole would keep her out of trouble. Nicole would love her. Nicole would keep her safe.

“You better keep her safe, Haught. Or I swear on my shitty ass father's grave I will kick your ass.”

**_July, 2018_ **

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They weren’t supposed to find themselves like this. But there they were, alone together in Nicole’s apartment. It was Canada Day, a day of celebration for their country and their roots. Everyone was celebrating, barbecuing, picnicking in the parks, shooting off fireworks, but Nicole and Waverly couldn’t find themselves less interested in the day’s festivities.

It was foolish to use Wynonna as an excuse for their lack of celebration, but what else was there to say? It had been two months since Wynonna broke out and ventured off to Greece. Two months since either of them had heard from her. Two months since Waverly’s heart was silently shattered in her chest upon the realization that her sister was gone. Two months since Nicole had been left to pick up those pieces.

Nicole had insisted Waverly spend the day with her, claiming she needed to give Gus and Curtis a break from her sulking while they celebrated.

“If you’re not going to be involved in their celebration, at least come over to my place. We can do nothing together.” Nicole had told her over the phone.

“Will there be food?” Waverly raised an eyebrow.

“And alcohol. My treat.” Nicole smiled at Waverly’s hum of approval before the line went dead.

An hour later, Waverly gently knocked on Nicole’s door. She was wearing a crop top and jeans that looked damn near painted on, creating a midriff that exposed her glorious abs. Nicole had to force her eyes to remain on Waverly’s as she was sure she’d be caught staring.

“You can uh...come in.” Nicole side stepped out of the way and motioned for Waverly to enter.

“Nicole,” Waverly sighed after stepping inside, “I thought I told you that you can’t live in constant darkness like this. You need to open the curtains, or turn a lamp on.”

“I like the dark.” Nicole shrugged. “It’s...it’s ideal.”

“For what exactly?” Waverly turned to face Nicole, hands on her hips.

Nicole glanced down at the Xbox controller in her hand and hummed. She heard Waverly laugh and looked up to meet her eyes.

“I should have known you were gaming again.” Waverly smiled brightly, but it faded just as quickly as it came. “That was yours and Wynonna’s thing, huh?” She added quietly.

“Yeah,” Nicole look back at the controller, “yeah, it was.”

“So, I was promised there’d be alcohol?” Waverly asked, attempting to change the subject.

“In the fridge.” Nicole nodded. “I wasn’t entirely sure what your drink of choice was, so I just got beer. Though, now I know that’s your thing too.” She grinned.

“You share one beer over a game of pool.  _ One _ !” Waverly’s laugh rang in Nicole’s ears as the brunette disappeared into the kitchen.

Nicole sat back down on the couch and turned the TV off, setting the controller on the coffee table. Waverly joined her soon after, an uncapped beer bottle in each hand. She handed Nicole one of the beers and held her own bottle out toward Nicole.

“To Canada.” Waverly said.

“To Canada.” Nicole parotted, rolling her eyes playfully.

“And...to Wynonna, wherever she is, that she’s safe.”

“To Wynonna.” Nicole repeated, gently tapping the neck of her beer bottle with Waverly’s.

One beer turned into three, and one hour turned to four. They ate and drank and talked and told each other secrets. They shared stories of Wynonna and confessed things about each other to each other. Feelings were thrown into the open, and sobriety became a thing of the past. Nicole told Waverly she wanted to be a cop, and Waverly told Nicole that she had no plan for her future.

“I’m just scared.” Waverly confessed. “I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I don’t think I’m good enough to do anything with it anyways.”

“Bullshit!” Nicole yelled, causing Waverly to jump. “That’s bullshit, Waverly.” She tried again, lowering her voice. “You’re like...the smartest person I know.”

“Being smart doesn’t always guarantee a successful future.” Waverly mumbled, peeling off the label of her empty beer bottle. “I may know a lot of stuff, but not this.”

“Hey,” Nicole reached over and gently grabbed Waverly’s wrist, steadying her hand, “that’s okay, though. You’re not supposed to have that figured out yet.”

“You do.” Came Waverly’s response.

“Well...yes, but that’s because I’ve wanted to do this since I was a kid.” Nicole set her bottle on the coffee table and moved closer to Waverly. “We just finished our first year of college, Waves. People change their majors all the time.”

“I don’t want to change my major, though.” Waverly sighed.

“So don’t.” Nicole said as if it were the most obvious thing. “Keep studying history, and keep doing what you love.” She loosened her grip on Waverly’s wrist and added, “Keep aiming to work at that museum.”

“You know about that?” Waverly glanced at Nicole.

“Wynonna talked about you pretty often.” Nicole chuckled quietly. “I know everything about you, Waverly Earp.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that.” Waverly whispered.

“I know that you only dated Champ Hardy in high school so people wouldn’t speculate about your sexuality. I know your favorite food is sweet and sour soup with a dollop of peanut butter. I know you loved Willa, even though she treated you terribly.” Nicole paused before adding in a softer voice, “I know Wynonna was your rock, too.”

“It’s so hard, Nicole.” Waverly whispered after a moment of silence. “She was all I had left.”

“Me too.” Nicole looked down at her hands. “She was the only one who accepted me when I first came out. She showed me that, even though my own parents seem to hate me, I’m still loved.”

“She shot daddy and Willa and…” Waverly paused, choking out a strangled sob. “And as terrible as it sounds, she  _ saved me _ from them.”

“Wynonna was important to a lot of people.” Nicole said, wrapping an arm around Waverly. “She might have been a problem child, and she might have had a knack for getting into trouble, but she was loved. She won’t be forgotten.”

“Not by us.” Waverly whispered, leaning heavily into Nicole’s side.

“Not ever.” Nicole replied.

They cried and drank more until Nicole was out of alcohol. They even drank the bottle of whiskey stashed in the cabinet for Wynonna, toasting every glass to her. By the time the sun had started to set, they were more than just a little tipsy. They now sat across from each other on the living room floor, coffee table pushed to the side, with their legs stretched out in front of them and their feet pressed together. They had only one lamp on, causing their faces to be masked in an orange-yellow light. Maybe it was the lack of Wynonna’s presence, but they stayed silent, staring at each other and mapping each other’s faces.

“You look beautiful in this lighting.” Nicole said after a while.

“Only in this lighting?” Waverly tilted her head.

“No,” Nicole shook her head, “and that’s the problem. You  _ always _ look beautiful.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Because it means I want to kiss you, but can’t.”

“That made no sense.” Waverly giggled. “How is that connected to me always looking beautiful being a problem?”

“It’s a problem, Waves, because I’m sat here with my best friend’s sister and realizing how crazy I am about her.”

“How crazy you are about Wynonna?” Waverly bit her lip.

“No.” Nicole groaned, dragging out the ‘o’. “About  _ you _ . And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.”

“Not a damn thing? Why’s that?” Waverly moved onto her knees, inching her way closer to Nicole.

“I don’t know.” Nicole sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against the couch behind her. “You’re asking too many questions, and I’m too drunk to answer any of them.”

Waverly continued on her path, slowly crawling toward Nicole. As she got closer, Waverly noticed the disheveled appearance of Nicole, taking in her current state. The redhead seemed more tense than she had been over the last month, she seemed more keen on sleeping rather than doing anything else. It broke Waverly’s heart, to put it simply. The once vibrant and cool exterior Nicole used to carry was now completely gone. The dimly lit room didn’t make it look any better, either.

Nicole knew she looked like crap, knew she looked like she had rolled out of bed when Waverly had knocked on her door. So when she heard a giggle come from the girl across from her, Nicole cracked one eye open and raised an eyebrow.

“‘hat’s so funny?” Nicole mumbled.

“Nothing.” Waverly covered her mouth to conceal her laughter. “It’s just...you’ve got some hummus on your shirt.”

“Stupid vegan snacks. I blame you.” Nicole groaned and sat up. She looked down at her shirt and spotted the dot of hummus on her chest.

“Well since it’s somehow my fault it got there, let me get it off.” Waverly sat in the middle of Nicole’s extended legs, with her legs crossed, and leaned forward, wiping the vegan spread away with her finger.

“You know I could’ve...I could’ve done that myself.” Nicole said slowly, her eyes trained on Waverly’s hand as she brought her finger up to her mouth, licking the hummus off.

“Yeah but where’s the fun in that?” Waverly nearly purred after releasing her finger from her mouth. “It’s fun to watch you get flustered.”

“Waverly.” Nicole breathed out, relishing in every syllable passing through her lips.

“Am I doing something wrong?” Waverly asked innocently.

“No, but this...we can’t…” Nicole stumbled over her words, tripping over her thoughts like shoelaces tied together.

“You know, Nicole, I never thanked you.” Waverly said softly, taking Nicole’s hand in her own and playing with the ring on her pointer finger.

“For what?” Nicole asked, her eyes glued to their hands.

“For everything.” Waverly shrugged, pausing her ministrations. “For being here with me.”

“I promised Wynonna I’d watch out for you.” Nicole said as if it were no big deal.

“Yes, but you’re not spending all this time with me because you promised Wynonna you would.” Waverly squeezed Nicole’s hand and looked up at the redhead. “You’re doing it because you want to, because you like it.”

“I do.” Nicole whispered.

The vulnerability was there again, in Nicole’s eyes, clear as day. Waverly couldn’t miss it even if she tried, she couldn’t miss the terrified look that settled over Nicole’s face. She began putting the pieces together then. Everything began to slide into place like the pieces of a puzzle. 

Nicole’s quiet confession of feelings when she thought Waverly was asleep, the late night texts making sure she was okay, the constant yearning to be together. Nicole was in just as deep as Waverly was and Waverly felt that, for the first time since Wynonna was taken, she wasn’t alone. Maybe it was the alcohol coursing through her veins that was to blame for what she did next, or maybe it was the feeling of wanting to be  _ touched _ and  _ loved _ , but Waverly surged forward, then, taking Nicole’s face in her hands and kissing her fiercely.

Nicole was taken by surprise as she felt Waverly’s lips working against her own, but didn’t hesitate before kissing back. She closed her eyes and moved a hand to gently grip Waverly’s wrist, stopping her hand from sliding under her shirt. Waverly pulled away, and it took everything out of Nicole to not chase her lips. She slowly opened her eyes and, the alcohol made her mind take longer to catch up with her before she realized Waverly staring at her like a deer in headlights.

Waverly’s eyes were wide, her breathing was noticeably uneven, and she had a death grip on Nicole’s arm. If Nicole didn’t know any better, she’d say the look on Waverly’s face said she regretted what she just did. But Nicole knew Waverly, knew how to read her. She also knew where they both stood on the spectrum of feelings, so she tilted her head to the side like a puppy and allowed herself to smile. It was a real, genuine, dimpled grin that bore a new sense of... _ something _ within it. She felt Waverly’s grip loosen on her arm slightly, her breathing slowly returning to normal, as the silent message was conveyed. Not trusting herself to use words in that moment, Nicole did the only thing she could to truly convince Waverly of what she was trying to say, of what she’d been trying to say for the past year.

Slowly reaching her hands up, Nicole cupped Waverly’s face and leaned forward, just barely brushing their lips together. It was a small gesture, and one she wanted to take further, but she refrained herself. There was something she needed to say, something important that she knew she’d forget to say after losing herself in the moment.

“We’re too drunk, Wave.” Nicole whispered against Waverly’s lips. “We can’t…”

“I don’t want to sleep with you, Nicole.” Waverly replied as she rose to her knees, breaking their contact and nearly causing Nicole to whimper at the loss. “All I want is to kiss you like I’ve been dying to since forever.”

“Since forever, huh?” Nicole smirked and wrapped her arms around Waverly’s waist as the shorter girl placed a knee on either side of Nicole’s legs, straddling her.

“Oh, you have no idea.” Waverly whispered before leaning down and capturing Nicole’s lips in another kiss. “No sex...I just need to get her off my mind. And I know you do, too.”

“So this is just a casual thing, then?” Nicole slid a hand up Waverly’s back, her hand resting against the back of Waverly’s neck.

“Super casual.” Waverly nodded and kissed Nicole again.

Being drunk made a lot of things hard to understand or do, but there was one thing they both knew for certain in that moment: whatever they found themselves doing was as far from casual as casual gets.

They didn’t want casual, they wanted more. They wanted each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come find me on Twitter!  
> @deputyydipshit


	4. A Traveler's Guide to Living Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hungry?” A deep voice came from behind her.
> 
> “I could murder for some baklava right about now,” Wynonna turned to face Keegan.
> 
> “Baklava?” Keegan raised an eyebrow. “You’re in Crete, the largest Greek island, just four floors above some of the best restaurants in the country, and you’d kill for baklava?”
> 
> “I’m a woman of neither grace nor elegance,” Wynonna gave a sarcastic curtsy and turned back to the cityscape.
> 
> “If baklava is what you want, Earp, then baklava is what you’ll get,” Keegan laughed quietly as he stepped up next to Wynonna. Leaning his elbows on the railing, matching her stance, he stretched a pointed finger out in front of them. “You know what sea this is?"
> 
> “Please don’t give me the geographical breakdown of Greece, Keegan,” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “I just got out of mental prison, I’d like to actually enjoy my freedom, thank you.”

**_Purgatory_ **

**_July 2018_ **

Nicole woke with a start, groaning as the sound of her alarm filled her ears. The incessant _beep! beep! beep!_ seemed to only grow louder as each second passed. Grumbling about the noise and trying to ignore the pounding in her head, Nicole managed to turn the alarm off after blindly searching for the offending piece of technology. She pinched the bridge of her nose and slowly sat up, letting the silence wrap around her like a warm blanket. 

After a moment of gathering herself and her bearings, Nicole pulled herself out of bed and trudged into the kitchen. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it halfway with tap water, downing the tasteless substance in one gulp and setting the glass on the cool marble countertop. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes tightly, the early morning sun not helping her headache at all. After another moment, Nicole reached for the bottle of aspirin next to her empty cup, refilling the glass before popping two pills into her mouth in an attempt to combat her hangover.

Nicole paused, glass perched at her lips, at the thought of being hungover and squinted as she stared at the wall, trying to formulate cohesive thoughts. It hit her then, suddenly. Memories from the night before came flooding to the forefront of her mind and her eyes went wide.

_Waverly._

Waverly and Canada Day and the alcohol and the emotional vulnerability and the _kissing_. Nicole swallowed both pills and made her way back to her bedroom, finding a passed out Waverly in her bed, splayed out like a starfish against the mattress. How could she have not felt the smaller girl’s presence in the bed next to her when she woke? How did she not wake Waverly with the rukus she was sure to have made when she got out of bed? Nicole groaned as her head continued to pound, silently thanking whatever higher power above them allowed her to remain coherent enough to not do anything she knew they’d both regret in the morning. She sighed, relieved, knowing they were both fully clothed, though severely hung over.

Nicole made her way back to the bed and leaned down, covering Waverly with one of the many blankets on the bed. The smaller girl hummed and curled onto her side, eyes still closed and breathing still even. Nicole smiled down at Waverly, even though she knew Waverly wouldn’t see it, and leaned down to place a gentle kiss to her temple. After standing back up, Nicole made her way back to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle of aspirin and a glass of water for Waverly. Her footsteps were quiet as she entered her room again, and she tried to stay as quiet as possible as she set the painkillers and water down on the bedside table.

“Nicole?” Waverly’s sleepy form mumbled. Nicole sighed knowing she’d woken the smaller woman.

“Yeah, Waves?” Nicole said.

“Why does it feel like I can hear space and time? Why is my head _throbbing_?” The brunette mumbled.

“That’s because we drank my apartment dry of all the alcohol I had last night.” Nicole replied and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Why did we do that exactly? Are we stupid?” Waverly groaned and buried her head in the pillow.

Nicole chuckled lightly and ran a hand gently up Waverly’s arm. “We had a lot on our minds. A lot we wanted to get _off_ our minds.”

Nicole moved her hand back down Waverly’s arm, resting at her elbow. Waverly’s other hand reached up and clasped it tightly, intertwining their fingers. Nicole ducked her head and kissed the top of Waverly’s hand, letting her lips linger on the knuckles beneath them for a moment.

“I don’t remember much from last night,” Waverly admitted.

Nicole’s stomach dropped, the color draining from her face in anticipation for Waverly to admit she didn’t remember the words they exchanged, the vulnerability that floated between them. Or, even worse, that she regretted it all. They were drunk and their senses were heightened. Things were said that probably would never have been said if they were sober. Nicole knew Waverly better than the youngest Earp probably knew herself, she knew how Waverly prioritised her life and what came first. Kissing her sister’s best friend was definitely not at the top of that list, for sure. School was, maybe family, but Nicole knew she wasn’t and probably would never be.

“But one thing I do remember is something you said to me,” Waverly’s voice cut through Nicole’s thoughts.

“What’s that?” Nicole asked.

“You blamed me for you dropping hummus on your shirt, and you cursed my vegan snacks.”

Nicole couldn’t help the snort that came from her mouth at the admission. She expected something completely different, and was so overcome with relief in that moment she couldn’t even bring herself to care.

“That’s all you remember, eh?” Nicole managed to say after composing herself.

“That,” Waverly nodded and tightened her grip on Nicole’s hand, “and you said I looked beautiful.”

“You did,” Nicole breathed out. “You always do.”

“You said that, too,” Nicole couldn’t see her face, but she knew Waverly was smiling. She could feel it.

“I thought you said you didn’t remember anything from last night,” Nicole questioned. “You seem to remember a lot more than nothing.”

“Okay, so maybe I lied,” Waverly turned onto her back and stared up at Nicole. “Maybe I remember everything that happened last night. Like how you said you haven’t just been hanging out with me because you promised Wynonna you would, that you’re doing it because you want to.”

“Mhm,” Nicole hummed, her eyes trained on Waverly’s hand, and stroked Waverly’s knuckles with her thumb.

“And that you kissed me,” Waverly whispered. Nicole froze and slowly shifted her eyes to meet the brunette’s.

“Yeah, I remember that, too,” Nicole smiled. “It...it was pretty great,” she added in a whisper.

“You’re a really good kisser, Nicole,” Waverly giggled.

“And I think you might still be drunk,” Nicole chuckled. “I’ll go make us something to eat for breakfast. You rest up, okay?”

Waverly grabbed Nicole’s hand when she stood to leave and pulled her back onto the bed. Nicole stared at her for a moment before feeling the heat rush to her cheeks. Waverly smiled a small, nervous smile and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Stay for a little while longer?” She asked, sounding more like a little kid than a hungover college student.

“Okay,” Nicole rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but smile. After positioning herself sitting and leaning against the pillows, Nicole reached to her side and grasped the bottle of pain meds. She turned back to Waverly and placed two in her hand, practically forcing the glass of water into the other hand. “Take these.”

“Nicole,” Waverly frowned. “I’m fine.”

“You’re hungover. You may feel fine now, but it’ll hit soon enough. You’ll thank me later.”

Sighing, Waverly took the pills and downed the rest of the water, handing the empty glass back to Nicole. Smiling triumphantly, Nicole set the glass on the nightstand and, in an instant, she found that Waverly was wriggling around in the bed, repositioning herself with her head resting in Nicole’s lap. Nicole looked down at the brunette and offered her a lopsided smile.

“Hi?” Nicole chuckled.

“I have a headache,” Waverly pouted.

“I thought you said you were fine?” Nicole questioned.

Waverly just shrugged and played with the hem of Nicole’s shirt. “Kiss it?”

“What, your head?” Waverly nodded and Nicole felt her heart skip a beat. Leaning down, Nicole pressed her lips gently against Waverly’s forehead.

Nicole went to sit back up, but was stopped by Waverly’s hand gripping the front of her shirt. Their eyes locked and Nicole saw the unasked question dancing behind Waverly’s hazel irises, perched on the tip of her tongue. Nicole’s eyes searched Waverly’s, searching for a reason why she should be afraid or why she should be doubting what she so desperately wanted to do. She found none, instead stumbling upon an unspoken want, an unspoken _need_ , in Waverly’s eyes. It was the strangest conversation she’d ever had, considering no words were exchanged, but Nicole understood everything. Waverly’s fingers dug deeper into the material of Nicole’s sleep shirt, pulling her down even closer, a silent signal to tell Nicole to just _do something already, dammit_.

Leaning down and closing the sliver of space remaining between them, Nicole closed her eyes and met Waverly’s lips in a kiss that held an entirely different meaning than those they shared the precious night, promised a new promise than any kiss they shared before.

It was a new beginning for them, a beginning that was more than just casual hookups and meaningless making out. It a beginning full of _I want you_ ’s and _I need you_ ’s and _I know_ ’s.

\- - - - -

**_Crete, Greece_ **

**_July 2018_ **

The sun was setting beyond the city’s horizon, casting an orange-pink glow across the vast expanse of sky above. Clouds were scattered about, floating by without a care, as clouds do. Wynonna leaned forward against the balcony’s railing and looked out across the ocean for as far as her eyes could see. She was four floors up and could see the entire Old Venetian Harbour below, the bustling restaurants standing in stark comparison to the quiet docs just a few feet away. It was strange to be able to witness such beauty with her own eyes after being denied so much as a glimpse at the outside world while she was trapped in the loony bin. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the fresh Greecian air, and her nostrils with the delectable smells wafting up from restaurants below. As if on cue, her stomach made an ungodly noise, close to something resembling a ticked off dog, and Wynonna looked down at her abdomen.

“Hungry?” A deep voice came from behind her.

“I could murder for some baklava right about now,” Wynonna turned to face Keegan.

“Baklava?” Keegan raised an eyebrow. “You’re in Crete, the largest Greek island, just four floors above some of the best restaurants in the country, and you’d kill for _baklava_?”

“I’m a woman of neither grace nor elegance,” Wynonna gave a sarcastic curtsy and turned back to the cityscape.

“If baklava is what you want, Earp, then baklava is what you’ll get,” Keegan laughed quietly as he stepped up next to Wynonna. Leaning his elbows on the railing, matching her stance, he stretched a pointed finger out in front of them. “You know what sea this is?”

“Please don’t give me the geographical breakdown of Greece, Keegan,” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “I just got out of mental prison, I’d like to actually _enjoy_ my freedom, thank you.”

“Alright,” Keegan held his hands up in surrender. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“For what?” Wynonna glanced at the man beside her.

“For getting us out of there. It was hard to lift all the weight of our plan by myself.”

“Oh piss off you dick,” Wynonna snorted and nudged Keegan with her shoulder. “ _I’m_ the one who got on Robert’s good side and helped us actually get out undetected.”

“Yeah, good call with him, by the way. Maybe he’ll come back into your life at some point and help you. Good karma exists.”

“I don’t believe in that bullshit,” Wynonna shrugged. “My fate has already been sealed, and I’m fucked. Might as well enjoy my freedom while I can.”

“Freedom looks good on you, girl,” Keegan smiled and stood up straight. “Enjoy your night, Wynonna. I’ll see you back at the hostel later, yeah?”

“If I’m not too shitfaced and high on sugar to find my way back,” Wynonna replied. Keegan laughed and clamped a hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze, before leaving her alone with her thoughts again.

Wynonna looked back out across the vast expanse of Greek land before her and let out a deep breath. She let her thoughts wander until she got lost; thinking of Waverly and if she was okay, how Nicole was doing, of how Purgatory was probably far better off without her. She had some regrets leaving her life and everything she knew behind, but Purgatory clearly didn’t want her so why bother staying. The curse could be fought by someone else, by _Waverly_ whom Wynonna believed to be the rightful heir. She’d figure it out. She’d call Waverly in due time, tell her where she hid Peacemaker all those years ago.

Wynonna laughed at the thought of her great-great-grandfather and all of the outlaws he killed during his time as sheriff. _He had no idea what kind of hell on Earth he’d be bringing his family_. She thought and shook her head. Wyatt was half the reason why she got locked up, and knowing she was the next heir to her family’s curse wasn’t helping much with the pain of knowing she could probably never return to Purgatory.

“Thanks, Wyatt,” Wynonna muttered, clicking her tongue to the back of her teeth. “You’re a real one.”

She stood there, looking out at the ocean as the sun set, until her stomach made another noise, demanding to be fed. Wynonna sighed and placed a hand on her stomach. It was time for lots of booze and baklava.

\- - - - -

**_Purgatory_ **

**_September 2019_ **

“Nicole, you know I hate surprises,” Waverly pouted.

“I know, baby, but just trust me with this one, okay?” Nicole grinned as they made their way down the apartment complex hall.

“Can you at least move your hands from over my eyes? I promise I won’t peak.”

“Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” Nicole asked, a playful lit filling her tone as she unlocked the door.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty,” Waverly muttered.

“Careful, or you’ll start to sound like Wynonna.”

“Nicole Rayleigh Haught, I swear…” Waverly reached back blindly and swatted at Nicole’s arm, lightly slapping her.

“Okay, okay!” Nicole laughed. “I’m sorry,” she stopped in the middle of the room and turned Waverly so she was facing a bedroom door. “Now, are you ready to see your surprise?”

“The suspense is killing me,” Waverly nodded. “So _yes_.”

“Alright,” Nicole smiled and took a step back, letting her hands fall to her sides. Waverly opened her eyes and was confused when she found herself facing a closed bedroom door.

“Your present to me is...a bedroom?” Waverly tilted her head and looked back at Nicole.

“Open the door, genius,” Nicole laughed.

Waverly rolled her eyes and bit her lip before pushing the door open slowly. The room was dark, but the smell of paint and wood filled her nostrils instantly. Even more confused than before, Waverly flipped the light switch on and gasped at what she saw. Before her stood a desk that nearly reached from the floor to the ceiling. The walls of the small room were lined with bookshelves and various display cases, all empty and waiting to be filled. Waverly stepped further inside and turned in a slow circle, taking everything in.

“Nicole,” Waverly whispered softly, running her fingers along the smooth expanse of the desk, “what is all of this?”

“Just a little something,” Nicole shrugged and leaned against the doorframe.

“A little?” Waverly turned to face her girlfriend and quirked an eyebrow at her. “This is a tad bit more than just ‘a little something,’ Nicole. How’d you do this? I slept in here last night.”

“While you were in class today, after I got done, I recruited some friends to help me tear this room apart and turn it into a small study for you.”

“Friends? What friends? All we have is Wynonna. And I know she didn’t help you.” Waverly crossed her arms.

“Chrissy,” Nicole sighed. “Chrissy helped me. I’m sorry, do you not like it? Did I mess up? Oh god I messed up, didn’t I?”

“No! No,” Waverly shook her head. “I love it, Nic, but it’s just...where am I supposed to sleep now when I come over?”

“Well, that’s the other part of your present,” Nicole pushed herself off of the doorframe and stood up straight. “When you’ve spent the night here in the past, before we were together, you would stay in this room. But now that we’re together,” she paused to smile at Waverly, “you’ve just been putting your stuff in here, and sleeping with me.”

“Right,” Waverly nodded.

“So I was thinking,” Nicole shoved her hands into her pockets. “We’ve been together for two months now and I was wondering if you’d want to just move in with me? I know you’ve been wanting to move out from above Shorty’s for a while, and instead of letting you blow your money on a new place...I thought this would be nice. That it would be good...for us.”

“You...you want me to move in? With you?” Waverly’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”

“Only if you want to,” Nicole rushed to say. “Only if you want to, yes.”

“The loneliness is too much, sometimes,” Waverly said softly, as if weighing her options. “And the silence can be _a lot_.”

“I know,” Nicole crossed the room and hooked a finger under Waverly’s chin, tilting her head up. “That’s why I want you to move in with me. It’s been too much for me, too. I don’t want you to go through this alone anymore.”

“I mean, we practically live together right now as it is,” Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. “Why not make it official?”

“So you want to?” Nicole asked hopefully.

“How could I say no after you’ve done this for me?” Waverly motioned around the room with her hand before resting it on Nicole’s cheek. “Besides, if I move in, that means I can steal more of your clothes without you realizing it.”

“ _More_ of my clothes?” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

“Those t-shirts aren’t the only things you’ve let me walk out of here wearing,” Waverly smiled and lightly patted Nicole’s cheek before stepping back and walking toward the door. “You might want to recount all those flannels you have,” she tossed over her shoulder before leaving the room.

“Wait–” Nicole turned and followed the brunette out the door. “Wave–”

\- - - - -

**_Paros, Greece_ **

**_December, 2019_ **

Greece, Wynonna had concluded, was the place where dreams came true. Disney World be damned, she had determined the seemingly mystical country to be the place her heart truly desired. Over the last year, Wynonna had found herself. She had spent time discovering who she truly was, embracing her crazy and becoming comfortable in her own skin. Her whole life had been spent running – running from demons, running from the authorities, running from her past _and_ her future – and she felt it was time to change that.

She traveled around Greece with Keegan and his biker gang, the Banditos, and forgot her problems for the first time since she was put in the system. The Banditos were a really cool group of people, no one person the same as anyone else, which made it easy for Wynonna fit in with her fucked up past and reckless abandonment issues. Riding with the Banditos got her into more trouble than none (they might have broken into a couple of stores and robbed a bank or two, no big deal) but Wynonna finally felt like she belonged somewhere. They needed her, and not just because of her wickedly good looks; these people valued her presence and Wynonna took advantage of that feeling.

Their second stop in Greece required them to board a two and a half hour flight from Crete to Paros, a beautiful island in the Aegean Sea with beaches and interesting villages at every turn. Their first stop in Paros was a small fishing village in the northeast corner of the island called Naoussa. Keegan’s right hand man, a buff bald guy they called Tank, had requested the stop on their trip to the island. Wynonna had stared at Tank, mouth agape, when he made the suggestion in a weak, timid voice. This man, as tall and muscular as he seemed, was more innocent than a puppy on adoption day. The town was next to empty, locals wandering about and the streets devoid of any clear tourists. As a beachside village, Naoussa was a summertime tourist trap but seeing as they were walking about in the winter, it made sense to see very little activity.

“Nice choice, War Machine, you chose a beach to come visit. In the winter,” Wynonna quipped.

“There’s plenty to do here that doesn’t involve being outside...I think,” Take replied.

“We could go to the wine museum?” A short, Italian man Keegan had introduced as Capone, suggested, his eyes trained on a pamphlet in his hand. “Wait, forget about it. It’s closed,” he waved the idea off.

“What about the Church of-”

“ _Church_? Hank, you can’t be serious!” Capone yelled.

“Okay, well, you ladies can keep fighting over which one of you saw him first, but I think I’m going to go poke around on my own,” Wynonna nodded.

“Earp?” Keegan called after her.

“I’m sure, Keegan. I’m fine,” Wynonna assured before she continued walking away.

*******

A long walk on the pier and a taxi ride later, Wynonna found herself wandering down the streets of Paros, Naoussa long gone and forgotten. She readjusted her scarf and shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, the bitter cold setting in for the night as the sun set. She had come to Lefkes, a picturesque mountain village complete with neo classical buildings and a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountain range. The village boasted several narrow roads, too small for cars to fit which made them perfect for walking. Taking in the view around her, Wynonna sighed and watched as her breath came out of her mouth like a puff of smoke.

_What am I doing?_ She thought to herself. _Why am I here and not in Purgatory?_

“Because they don’t want you there,” Wynonna answered aloud.

Since her successful brake out of St. Victorias, Wynonna had barely any time to breathe before she was being whisked away by Keegan on his black stallion. They had met the rest of the Banditos at the airport and left for Greece that same day. She wasn’t sure why they chose Greece, but she wasn’t complaining in the slightest. The further she was from Purgatory, the easier it would be to forget everything. Everyone had a purpose in Purgatory, everyone seemed to have it all laid out before them. Shorty opened a bar that everyone quickly fell in love with, her Aunt Gus and Uncle Curtis were the top tomato vendors in all of Calgary, Waverly and Nicole...well, they had each other, even from the start.

Everyone had a place in the “picture perfect” city, fitting together like puzzle pieces. Wynonna stood out in stark contrast among everyone. Leather jackets and boots aside, Wynonna just didn’t fit the mold every other Purgatorian, and she knew it had mostly to do with her fucked up mind. She’d like to believe she was actually crazy, that everyone in the town was only looking out for her when she was taken away, but she knew that wasn’t true. No amount of whiskey or Greek food could make her forget what she did, who she killed, who she ran away from. It was going to be hard to adjust to this new life, moving from place to place and never really settling down, but she knew it would pay off.

This was her chance to give Waverly the life she deserved, to disappear into the shadows and never emerge again. The thought of Waverly caused Wynonna to stop in her tracks. She missed her sister, she missed her more than anything, and she considered giving her a call, but it would only make things harder. Wynonna knew Waverly would ask when she was coming home, and proceed to beg when Wynonna would tell her that she was never coming home. Waverly was better off without her, anyway. With both Wynonna and Willa gone, Waverly would thrive and shine in the eyes of every townsperson in Purgatory.

“It’s for the greater good,” Wynonna nodded and continued aimlessly walking down the main road of Lefkes.

The rest of her time in Paros was spent getting drunk, consuming authentic Greek food, buying a new leather jacket as her old one was lost to a flock of pigeons and Keegan’s incompetence to feed them properly, and writing postcards to Purgatory that she would never send. Wynonna fully embraced her inner tourist, visiting every single tourist trap the city had to offer, ending her trip in the most attractive area of the entire island. Butterfly Alley was a place one could only dream of. The 600 acre nature park was full of walking trails, benches, perfect picture spots, and _tons_ of butterflies.

Wynonna walked behind the rest of her group, having receded deep into her mind yet again. Being surrounded by the beautiful creatures only made her think of Waverly more. It was painful, but a good kind of pain. It was a reminder that Waverly was going to be just fine without her.

“You’ve been in your cocoon for too long now, Waves,” she muttered. “It’s time you come out and spread your wings.”

\- - - - -

**_Purgatory_ **

**_July 2020_ **

Waverly entered the station with a smile on her face and a tray of coffee in her hand. She was earlier than usual on her daily visit and it had nothing and everything to do with the fact that today marked two years since she and Nicole had made one of the best decisions of their lives. Alcohol and hummus aside, Nicole had _kissed her_ and confessed her feelings later that night as their hands explored unknown territories, their bodies molded together in Nicole’s bed. Ever since that night, Waverly and Nicole had been inseparable. The dwindling flame of their friendship had struck into the raging fire of their relationship, creating an entirely new level of intimacy for them both.

College seemed to be easier now that she had Nicole by her side, taking each step with her and ensuring her that she was making the right choices. They had just finished their third year of classes and Waverly was still on the path to getting her degree in history, with an added minor in ancient languages. Nicole was still studying criminal justice and had picked up a part time job at the police station, which is why Waverly found herself gravitating toward the archaic building after her shift at Shorty’s had ended for the day. She approached the front desk and gave a curt nod to the newest deputy Sheriff Nedley had hired, a middle aged man who, Nicole had told her, had no idea what he was doing.

“Good afternoon, Lonnie,” Waverly smiled at him and set the tray of coffee on the desk, sliding him a cup. “Your usual.”

“Thank you, Ms. Earp,” Lonnie smiled. “Nicole should be around here somewhere, probably in the file room or at her desk.”

“Thank you. And it’s just Waverly, Lonnie,” Waverly waved off the formalities with a smile and a wave before rounding the bullpen.

She headed for the file room, where Nicole’s duties usually found her, but Waverly saw no sign of the redhead in the tiny room. With a quiet hum, and a slight nod of her head, Waverly figured her girlfriend was at her desk, tending to her super important, and super fun, task of paperwork. Nicole had told Waverly that Sheriff Nedley had stuck her on paperwork because he felt like it would give her some good experience for when she wanted to become a field agent in the future. Nicole’s friendship with Chrissy had made her relationship with the blonde’s father less awkward and more paternal in a sense.

Waverly smiled to herself as she walked back toward Lonnie and the front desk, thinking about Nicole’s future as a cop, maybe even taking over as Sheriff of Purgatory someday when Nedley retired. She passed through the break room to make sure Nicole wasn’t there either before finally making her way straight to Nicole’s desk. Waverly’s eyes caught sight of Nicole’s fiery red hair first, as it was casting a curtain around her face, her body bent over the desk and her hands scribbling nonsense onto a missing person’s report, that had the word ‘person’ scratched out, and ‘pug’ written above it. Waverly bit her lip and slowed her steps, admiring her girlfriend hard at work from across the room. She smiled and walked up to the front of the desk, setting the two remaining coffees down in front of Nicole.

“Hey,” Waverly beamed.

“Hey, baby,” Nicole replied, finally looking up from the report. “You’re off already?” She stood when Waverly nodded and the brunette did all but hide the way her eyes trailed over Nicole’s body.

She’ll admit that she wasn’t sure about the uniform Nicole had to wear at first, khaki pants and a navy blue button down shirt, red and green adorning her pockets and shoulders, but as time went on Waverly found herself becoming more attracted to it. Her eyes wandered up and down Nicole’s length, paying special attention to Nicole’s rolled up sleeves, her muscular build in both her legs and her torso showing through her uniform. She had to admit, it was kind of sexy. Waverly brought her eyes back up to meet Nicole’s and blushed when she saw the smirk Nicole was giving her. Something clicked in Waverly’s mind then, reminding her why she was really there.

“Is Nedley out for dinner?” Waverly asked suddenly, glancing around to make sure they were alone.

“You mean happy hour at Shorty’s?” Waverly nodded and Nicole chuckled. “Yeah, same time every day, kind of like clockwork.”

“Right, okay, yes,” Waverly nodded again and quickly pushed past Nicole, heading straight for the Sheriff’s office.

“Wave?” Nicole called after her, following in tow. “Waverly,” she tried again after entering the office behind the smaller woman.

“Excuse me,” Waverly gently pulled Nicole further into the office after making work of closing all the blinds.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” Nicole questioned as Waverly closed the office door, clicking its lock into place. “What is your–” Her thought was never finished, for Waverly had latched herself onto Nicole like a squirrel climbing a tree, crashing their lips together.

Nicole’s arms instinctively went around Waverly’s waist, her hands resting on her hips, as she lost herself in the sensation of kissing Waverly for a beat too long. The force of Waverly’s kiss nearly knocked Nicole off of her feet, causing her to backpedal in an attempt to regain her balance. She tripped over her own boots and the both of them went falling back onto the couch adjacent to Nedley’s desk. The impact from their fall was enough to bring Nicole out of her daze enough for her to pull away from Waverly’s kiss, despite every bone in her body screaming at her not to.

“What happened to ‘coffee and casual conversation’?” Nicole finally managed to breathe out. Waverly frowned for a moment before sitting back against her heels, her brows knitting together in thought.

“You know what I’ve always wanted?” Waverly asked.

“What?” Nicole choked out, confused.

“To do all of the things I’ve never done before.”

“What do you–” Nicole started but her words were cut off by Waverly’s rambling.

“There are a lot of things I’ve never done, a lot of things that fear has kept me from doing. I’ve never been to a drive-in theater. I’ve never had a dog. I’ve never even seen the ocean!” Waverly threw her hands in the air.

Nicole chucked quietly and reached up to grab both of Waverly’s hands in an attempt to calm her down. She had no idea where Waverly was going with all of this, but she knew better than to interrupt her when she was in the middle of an anxiety induced ramble.

“The thing is, though, I haven’t done those things because I was being held back by fear. We _could’ve_ had a dog, I _could have_ gone to the drive-in with Mamma and Daddy and Wynonna and Willa, I _could have_ gone to the beach with Chrissy junior year of high school, but I didn’t. I didn’t do any of those things, because I let myself be held back by fear.

“What if someone came in and hijacked our car in the middle of the movie? What if the dog attacked me and I had to get stitches? What if I drowned? I’ve tried to rationalize those situations in my head, telling myself that my worrying was necessary and kept me safe when what I really did was worry so much to the point of missing out on all of the things that could’ve brought me happiness before I was exposed to the harsh truth of my reality, of what it really meant to be an Earp.”

“Waverly, I understand your fear, and I can think of a few ways we can change some of the things you’ve never done to being things you have done, but what does any of this have to do with you locking me in my boss’s office on our two year anniversary?”

“Because there’s one last thing on that list of things I’ve never done before. And I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on it lately, getting even more confused and scared by it.”

“What’s that?” Nicole asked hesitantly.

“Love,” Waverly stated simply. “I’ve never been in love before, and I’ve always gotten anxious at the prospect of being in love, but I’ve had a couple years now to really think on it and I think I’ve come to a conclusion.”

“Which is?” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

“You scare me, Nicole.”

“I scare you?” Nicole’s face softened at the admission and felt her lips tilt up into a slight smile.

“Yes, you do,” Waverly breathed out, laughing slightly. “But that’s okay, because I’ve...well, I’ve always wanted to do the things that scared me. And loving someone...loving you...has been at the top of that list since July of two years ago.”

“You...you love me?” Nicole’s eyes widened and her hands flexed against Waverly’s waist.

“Nicole, don’t you see?” Waverly framed the redhead’s face with delicate hands. “I have been in love with you since you ran into me in the halls our freshman year. Wynonna had been going on and on about this ‘stellar redhead who’s captain of the hockey team’ and how I needed to meet her. Who knew it would take an untied shoe and a narrow hallway to make it happen?”

“You dropped your books on my foot and cursed under your breath when you saw my boots were scuffed,” Nicole chuckled, remembering the day vividly.

“And then you assured me it was okay with a wink and a dimpled smile and, God Nicole, I’ve been in love with you since then."

“I thought you hated me, because you always seemed to avoid me after that day unless I was at your house,” Nicole let her fingers dance across Waverly’s hipbone underneath her shirt.

“No, baby, I avoided you because I was afraid. I was too damn scared to do anything about it until it was too late. It took Wynonna leaving and us spending way too much time watching _90 Day Fiancé_ for me to realize it, but I do. I do, Nicole Rayleigh Haught. I really, _really_ love you.”

“So you showed up right after work, brought me coffee that’s now most certainly gone cold, and locked me in my boss’s office...all to tell me you love me?” Nicole grinned and tilted her head. “You haven’t even given me a chance to tell you that I love you, too.”

“You do love me?” Waverly bit her lip.

“Yes, Waverly Earp, I am in love with you. And I’m in love with the way you ramble when you’re nervous.”

“I do ramble a lot,” Waverly winced slightly at how awkward she must have been acting. “Maybe I should just stop talking.”

“See? Pretty _and_ smart, even if the two aren’t mutually exclusive,” Nicole smirked and pulled Waverly closer by the front of her jacket. Waverly leaned down, her hands falling to the arm of the couch behind Nicole.

“Maybe you should stop talking too,” she said lowly, glancing down at Nicole’s lips.

“Well, maybe you should make me,” Nicole smiled, her dimple exposing itself. 

Waverly let herself go in that moment and connected their lips in a kiss full of fire and passion and everything in between. For once, since 2016, things seemed to be okay. They were still frightened and mourning the loss of their favorite person, but they knew in that moment that they had each other if nothing else. And that was one of the best damn feelings in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I'm so sorry this took forever to post! I had to do a lot of research and plan out these last two chapters accordingly. Thank you for continuing to follow this story, and I promise the last chapter will be up as soon as possible!

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me on Twitter! We can be friends!  
> Twitter: deputyydipshit


End file.
